YOUR VIEW - LANDFILL CAPPING PLAN

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Despite Dartmouth's strong opposition, the MA DEP has decided to move forward with Boston Environmental's (BEC) capping proposal. Closed door meetings, in which the SouthCoast Alliance for a Cleaner Tomorrow was denied access by the town, resulted in some interesting outcomes.

First and foremost, protect our water supplies!

Despite Dartmouth's strong opposition, the MA DEP has decided to move forward with Boston Environmental's (BEC) capping proposal. Closed door meetings, in which the SouthCoast Alliance for a Cleaner Tomorrow was denied access by the town, resulted in some interesting outcomes.

First,back in November 2013, Comprehensive Site Assessment (CSA) activities were negotiated, a summary of which was not presented until 3/17/14 at a public meeting hosted by the Select Board and attended by Philip Weinberg, DEP Regional Director.

It is not clear whether this summary has been incorporated into a final Administrative Consent Order, since one was not presented. Without the final document and its details, it is difficult to comment. Missing from the summary is human health risk assessments and a public meeting to discuss all results.

Site preparation and construction activities will be allowed during the CSA. Should testing results be less toxic than anticipated, no alternatives will be used. The DEP remains committed to capping this site with significant volumes of contaminated materials, even though they demanded a complete clean-up in 2011. BEC's proposal surprisingly appeared in 2012, less than one year from the DEP's clean-up demand. What changed in that short time?

Another outcome from private negotiations was a reduction in cap height, as outlined in a draft also presented on 3/17/14. The DEP has graciously offered to reduce the cap height by 20 feet, from 77 feet to 57 feet. That may sound like progress, except for two important points: First, the height was always publicly discussed at 65 feet, not 77, meaning this cap either grew during negotiations before it was reduced, or was never properly conveyed to the public from the start. The now eight-foot reduction is laughable. Secondly, the reduction comes at a steep price: all mitigation — totaling $1.1 million — relating to water quality testing and water replacement in the event the cap fails, was removed; and can only be reinstated by increasing the height again to cover the cost.

Should residents want other mitigation included, such as important dust, odor, exhaust, noise, or traffic control, road repair, or restricted hours of operation, the height increases again for any related costs. Mitigation is not a trade-off game... the owner is required to mitigate risks. Demanding allowances for revenues to off-set costs, at increased risk to the community, is not an acceptable option.

The DEP leaves Dartmouth with no choice but to continue forward in litigation. Town Counsel's August 2013 letter to the DEP, found on the town's website, outlines various legal options available. Additionally, we must not forget our options under the powers of Town Meeting. As a community, we must send a unity message that protection of our water, health and quality of life is paramount.